A new angler!

I have been promising my 6 year old grandson Riki that I would take him fishing for ages. The summer holidays, although rather long, didn't exactly grace us with suitable weather to take out a little boy on his first trip. I wanted the day to be a memorable one, a day where we could sit and chat, have a picnic and ultimately catch a fish.

Yesterday was the last day of the school holidays, the sun was shining and I had no work on. Perfect!

I thought that the canal was probably my best chance of a fish in a short space of time. I don't think Riki is ready for long days of inactivity yet, waiting for a bite that might never come.

I bought a half pint of maggots, grabbed a float rod and took Riki to a rather lovely spot on the Gloucester - Sharpness canal.

He was very excited, watching me set up the rod and asking a million questions. I opened the maggot box and he recoiled with a shout of "Yuk", "I'm not touching them". I expalined that these red moggots are special fishing maggots and they are quite safe to touch. It wasn't long before he was holding them in his hand and wanting to put them on the hook. I put him in charge of the catapult and he was happy launching maggots into space in a vain attempt at scattering them around the float.
Practice Riki, you will get there in the end!

We hadn't had a bite after half an hour (a very long time when you are 6) no matter how hard we stared at the float and willed it to go under. I told Riki that I knew the best thing to do in these situations and I got out the sandwiches! Sure enough, after a couple of mouthfulls, the float disappeared and we struck into Riki's first fish. A lovely little perch!

I think the smile says it all. We caught some more perch and bream before heading off home, two happy anglers and I listened as he told his mum his first fisherman's tale.
How big was that fish Riki?

Vintage floats and swing tip

I have just bought a job lot of vintage floats and an old swing tip. People who know me will know that I love swing tip fishing and have a growing collection. I am looking forward to receiving this one and will match it up to one of my cane rods. Just need to find a silver coloured end ring with screw adaptor.

Gobio Gobio

All week I have been working and looking at the sunshine beckoning through the office windows. Dreams of a bobbing float and a lazy weekend at the local canal gudgeon fishing distracted me from my work. Finally, Friday came and I knocked off at 3pm and dashed off to the local tackle shop for some red maggots, hemp and groundbait.
Saturday morning bright and early, sandwiches were made and flask filled and I looked out of the window. Where had the sun gone??? I made my way to the canal and met up with a good friend who was already set up and huddled in his chair complete with hat, scarf and winter coat. A northerly wind was blowing through chilling everything in it's path. To cut a long story short, we sat in the cold and fished for 6 hours solid trying every technique in our armoury, but nothing not a single bite. In desperation, I cried out to the angling gods, Gobio Gobio, wherefore art thou Gobio!

Last day of the season

Well, things didn't quite go to plan and my friend and I ended up on a lovely stretch of the lower Severn at Severn Stoke which is between Tewkesbury and Worcester. We had originally intended to go to Bishopswood to fish the Wye but my friend had gone there the day before and said that it wasn't fishing very well.
We arrived at Severn Stoke at about 09:30, the weather was good if not a little cold. Perfect conditions we thought as we walked the bank. The river was moving along very slowly and the sun was starting to burn through the cloud. There were three other anglers already set up half way along the stretch who were fishing for pike. They hadn't had any success so far but it was still early. We walked further along the bank watching for signs of fish when a huge grey heron swoop down from the trees opposite and took out what looked like a large chub. We hoped for similar success! A little further on we came across another angler, just as he was netting a beautiful 8lb barbel. He had already caught two bream at just over 9lb each and a small trout which took his maggots. We were very excited after witnessing his catches and we scurried back to the car to get our kit. We plumped for two adjacent swims not far from the car park and set the rods up. The swims are very comfortable and anglers have to sit on huge boulders that have been placed along the stretch to prevent bank erosion. I decided to go for the barbel and used some halibut pellets banded to a size 10 hook. My friend opted for the maggot feeder approach. After a couple of hours, I was finding it hard to concentrate on the quiver tip as the sun was so low in the sky. I didn't want to nod off only to have my rod pulled in by a barbel.
The sun moved around slowly and I adjusted my rod so that the tip was easier to see. I changed over to red maggots for the last few hours and although we didn't get any barbel, we caught some lovely chub, trout and the biggest dace I have ever seen. Role on June 16th, I am itching to get back out!

Fly fishing for carp

I have tried this technique and found it great fun. I bought some chum mixer flies to try. You can get them off eBay; very cheap too! Go on, give it a try.











You can also use real fluff for carp, have a look at this video from the states.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/site/gallery/gallery_display.html?gallery_id=00003&media_id=00179

Last week of the season

Well, it's that time of the year again folks. Just a few more days left to enjoy some of our beautiful rivers and streams.
I have decided to take Wednesday off and spend some time with a good friend fishing the Wye at Bishopswood. I hope that we can winkle out some end of season barbel. I hope that I will have some news and photos to share if all goes to plan.

Lid on the lake

Went to one of my club waters yesterday as the sun was shining and I had a few hours to myself for a change. Unfortunately mother nature had other plans and put a lid of ice on the lake to scupper my chances. Oh well, it is a lovely venue and I really enjoyed the peace and tranquillity. I stayed for an hour or so just walking around, picking up litter and chatting to a friendly robin. A couple of other hopeful anglers arrived and we took in the view together and vowed to return on a warmer day.

Current projects

Well, I don't know where to start. I now have four projects on the go and tomorrow I have to take my daughter to town so I will leave her in a shoe shop with Dad's plastic and go off to the tackle shop and the model shop to buy some bits and pieces.

Project 1. My broken ledger rod. 
I have been getting a lot of advice and support from members of the Traditional Fisherman's Forum and I must publicly thank Paul for sending me some blank tapered tips to rebuild my rod. Paul even supplied me with new end rings; what a gent! Thanks Paul.
I need to strip the old rod down, fit the end section, paint it and whip it over with some new thread. Then fit the new end ring which is threaded to take my swing tips. Yeah!!! I know, I'm an old fashioned angler but hey ho. The rest of the rod will then need painting and I will have to work out the correct spacing for the rings and whip them all on. A coat or three of varnish should see the job done. I will post before and after photos for all of my projects. Hopefully you will notice a difference between the two.

Project 2. Loose spigot.
An old rod bought at a car boot sale has a loose spigot. In fact it just falls apart so I will be attempting to refit it. I have again been given some sterling advice from the forum members so I am more confident of success!

Project 3. My old centrepin.
I still haven't started to restore my old wood and brass centrepin reel. I think it is going to be a long winter.

Project 4. 7ft Split cane rod.
I will be leaving this project to last. I want to do a good job with this one and need to practice my whipping skills on the other rods first. Hopefully this rod will be finished before  June 16th ready for it's first outing.

Anyway, I had better go and finish my shopping list and order my threads and varnish.
Back soon!

Redmire Pool phone wars day!

Well, today was the annual phone wars day on the Redmire Pool forum. Every year many hopeful anglers commence ringing the single landline booking number in the hope of securing some time at the hallowed pool. The phone line opens at 10am sharp and keeps going until all of the places are filled. Two stalwart gents, Les and Nick, fuelled by Broome Farm's finest, take it in turns answering the phone and recording the bookings for the lucky few who manage to get through.
Alas, this year was not to be my year. I tried for 5 hours but the sound of the engaged tone was as close as I got. Never mind. There is always next year.

Congratulations to all those who got to speak to Les or Nick, I hope you have an amazing experience at the Mire!

Rubbish rant!!!

Today as part of my bailiff duties I visited some local pools and was so disappointed to find mountains of rubbish. I always take a black bin liner with me on my rounds but I could have filled a dozen today. 


I just don't understand the mentality of "anglers" who leave so much litter in the water and on the bank when they, by definition, are supposed to be nature loving individuals who love and care for the countryside and their surroundings

Winter

Winter months can be very frustrating, rivers in flood, high winds and bitter cold can transform a once idyllic setting into a very harsh environment. Winter is certainly a time for the most intrepid of anglers. I have missed my last three attempts at visiting local waters; twice due to the weather but most recently due to my car deciding it would rather stay on the driveway.
I have now turned my attentions to some projects that have been shelved for far too long. I have a lovely little 7ft split cane spinning rod and an old wood and brass centrepin; both in need of refurbishment. I am also very keen to try my hand at making some new floats. I am going to stand in line with the model plane chappies at my local store and pick up some balsa wood at the weekend.
I will keep you posted with my progress.
Good luck to any of you lucky enough to be out on the bankside this weekend.

Reel Pokey

These are lovely little suede leather pokies to keep your reels safe and sound. I bought one today for my centrepin and it fits a treat. The sellers sends them very quickly and delivery is free!

Ebay link

Salutations from the bankside!

Dear friends, blogging (what a horrible word by the way) is very new to me and I beg you to forgive my inexperience when reading this page. I am sure that over the coming months I will edit and re-edit the layout until I reach a stage of satisfaction or merely an unwilling acceptance that I can do no more.

What I will be attempting to do, is share with you some of my thoughts and experiences as I take my piscatorial journey through 2012! I welcome you all to join me for a chat along the way.